Birthday Candles
by PeaceLoveAndCheese
Summary: Percy always forgets the important days.


**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PERCY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!**

**The rest of "Connections" will be up later tonight (or early tomorrow) but Percy needed his annual birthday fic. **

**Apologies for slight OOCness.**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned Percy, I would be his girlfriend.**

* * *

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Percy turned around to stare at Annabeth. They had gotten out of Tartarus only a couple weeks before and while they were still pretty beaten up, Percy's mental state had gotten much better, meaning he no longer forgot shoes whenever he left his cabin, or the other Argo II members' names, or, like one memorable time, when he couldn't remember where he had left his pants (everyone was pretty sympathetic about that, except Leo, who had been cracking up on the floor). Still, he ran a quick mental check. _Shoes, shirt, pants, sword, necklace, bandages changed, I'm good_.

"No," he replied. "I don't think so."

Annabeth gave him a small smile, which made him happy. Seeing Annabeth smile nowadays was a rare occurrence. She was thinner than she had ever been from malnourishment and dehydration. She had cuts on her arms and legs. Her eyes were sunken in her face and her cheekbones and ribs showed through her skin. Percy knew he was practically a mirror reflection, except for the fact that he was a guy and hadn't broken an ankle, instead breaking a wrist about three days in.

"I'll give you a hint," Annabeth said. Percy didn't really want to play memory games, which Coach Hedge and Nico had been making him do all the time. They didn't call it therapy, but Percy knew that's what it was. However, Annabeth was his girlfriend, so he decided to humor her. "It has to do with the day."

"Um... it's Wednesday?" Percy guessed. From the look on Annabeth's face that wasn't the right answer.

"Percy... it's Sunday," Annabeth said gently.

"Right." He looked up at the sky and thought for a moment. "School starts again in a couple weeks?"

Annabeth nodded. "That, but there's something else. Something special. Something to do with you."

It dawned on him. "Oh, sorry! Happy anniversary Annabeth!" He leaned down and kissed her and was glad to see her laugh a bit.

"Well, that's halfway correct."

"Oh." Percy's shoulders slumped. He honestly had no clue what he was missing here.

Annabeth shook her head and gave him a hug. "Happy Birthday, Percy."

He wrapped his arms around her, eyes wide. It was his birthday. He was seventeen years old. A year ago, he had been standing on Mount Olympus, being offered immortality. And now he was standing on a flying boat, hugging his girlfriend.

"Wait, what?" Leo's head popped up from belowdecks. "It's Percy's birthday?"

Annabeth nodded, smiling.

"Why didn't you say so!" Leo broke into an off-key chorus of "Happy Birthday."

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PERCEEEEEEEEEE-"

"Leo, shut up!" Piper said, appearing next to him. "It's your birthday?"

Percy shrugged. "I guess."

"Happy birthday!" Piper came over to give him a hug when Jason flew down from the mast.

"It's Percy's birthday today?" the son of Jupiter asked. "I didn't know!"

"No one did," Percy said. "I didn't."

Hazel popped up next to Leo. "What's going on?"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PERCY-" Leo started singing again.

"Oh!" Hazel exclaimed. She called down the stairs. "FRANK! IT'S TIME!"

"OKAY!" Frank hollered back up the stairs. There was some banging around and then Frank came up the stairs, holding a plate that had a cake balanced on it. Frank and Hazel were grinning.

"Happy birthday, Percy," Frank said, handing him the plate.

Percy took it, very bewildered. "Wha... what? How?"

"You talk in your sleep. We've known since June," Hazel said, linking her arm through Frank's and smiling.

"I..." Percy was pretty confused on how everyone remembered it was his birthday when he didn't even remember the day of the week. "I... um..."

Annabeth took the cake from his hands and set it on top of a railing, which was smart, because Percy was pretty sure he was going to drop it. "Leo?"

"On it!" Leo dug around in his toolbelt and pulled out a collection of birthday candles. "Seventeen!" He stuck them in the frosting and lit his finger, creating a group of brightly lit flames.

The group of them started singing as the candles flickered on and off. Percy looked around and made a wish. He closed his eyes and was about to blow the candles out when-

"FIRE!" Coach Hedge had come barreling up the stairs, waving his club and screaming. "GET DOWN, JACKSON! I'LL SAVE YOU!" The coach had become strangely protective of Percy and Annabeth after they had been reunited, meaning, more so than usual.

"Coach!" Jason tackled the satyr before he could do any permanent damage. "Percy _really_ doesn't need anyone attacking him right now. It's his birthday, remember? We explained this."

"Oh." The Coach stopped. "Right."

"Cake?" The son of Hades appeared at the top of the stairs. "Cool! It's blue!" Nico had been a lot more childlike lately, something Percy wasn't sure was good or not. "Remember? We had blue cake!"

Percy smiled at the memory and blew out the candles.

"Awesome! It's chocolate!" Leo said as Hazel cut the cake with a plastic knife and handed out pieces.

It grew silent, except for munching of cake, until Leo shouted with his mouth full, "PRESENTS!" He dug deep into his toolbelt and brought out a small wrapped package, handing it over.

"What is it?" Percy asked, turning it over in his hands.

"You have to open it!" Leo said, laughing and forking more cake into his mouth.

Percy gingerly unwrapped the paper. Inside was a box. He opened it and pulled out a small golden sphere, with swirly lines carved on the outside. "What is it?"

"Here." Leo took the ball and pressed a button. The ball opened at the top. It flattened out and spread leaves from the sides, creating a golden flower about the size of Percy's hand. It sparked and a fire started in the bottom, growing in size until there was a five-foot bonfire sitting in Percy's hand, turning blue.

"Whoa..." Percy stared at the fire.

Leo smiled. "You've already got the water covered, so I figured I'd give you the fire. It's portable. Sort of like the campfire back home."

"It's great," Percy said. "Thanks, Leo."

Leo shrugged. "It's nothing. Just snap your fingers to close it back up. It can change sizes too. Probably could get up to the size of the camp bonfire."

Percy grinned and snapped his fingers. The ball stopped flaming and grew smaller, closing back up into the sphere shape. Percy slipped it into his pocket.

"Us next!" Hazel exclaimed. She and Frank handed Percy a wrapped package. It was pliable and squishy. He shook it as a joke, even though it was pretty obvious that there was nothing shakable inside. He tore the paper and pulled out a bright orange toga, the same color as his camp shirt.

"We figured that you needed the best of both worlds," Hazel explained. "Now you've got a Roman toga in a Greek color."

"Wow," Percy said. "That's awesome. I love it. Thanks, guys." He gave Hazel a hug and grinned at Frank.

"Me next!" Piper said. She handed Percy an oddly shaped present. He unwrapped it, getting into the whole birthday thing.

Inside was a stuffed clownfish.

"It's Nemo!" Piper said gleefully. "That's my favorite Disney movie. I got it for you... well, I had my dad get it for me and then I picked it up. Do you like it?"

Percy was laughing. "Yeah, thanks, Pipes."

Jason wrapped his arm around his laughing girlfriend. "Um, my gift is sort of... well, you'll see." He winced and handed over a present.

Percy unwrapped it to find... a book. "A book?"

Jason looked sheepish. "It's in case you find yourself on the other side of the country with no memory again. Ella and Annabeth helped me with it. I made one for myself. Read the inside."

Percy opened the book. Inside there was a piece of paper with Annabeth's handwriting taped to the cover:

_Percy,_

_If you're reading this, then you might not remember who I am. This has happened once before and I didn't want it to accidentally happen again. Jason and I made this for you for your seventeenth birthday on August 18th. _

_Your name is Percy Jackson. Your mother's name is Sally and your stepdad is Paul Blofis. You are a demigod and your father is Poseidon, meaning you control the ocean. You live in New York and stay at Camp Half-Blood during the summer. _

_You and I have been dating for exactly a year today. I don't know if you'll remember that, but I hope you do. _

_I'm probably not with you all the time, but that's okay. I'll be going crazy with worry back home and I hope that you'll find your way back, but if you don't, I know it's because you're off saving the world and helping everyone and generally being you. You are brave and kind and wonderful. And I love you. Always remember that, Percy. I love you._

_Annabeth_

Percy swallowed the lump in his throat and turned the pages. His friends faces smiled out at him through pictures. There were pictures from his first years at camp all the way up to a couple that were taken on the Argo II before Tartarus. Percy marveled at how happy and healthy he and Annabeth looked.

"Wow... Jason... wow." Percy closed the book. It shimmered in his palm and shrunk down to the size of an iPod. "That's... wow."

Jason smiled. "I figured it was a good investment."

"It's great." Percy said.

"And now me," Annabeth told him, grabbing his face and pulling him in for a kiss. She tasted like mint and frosting and Percy's world melted into Annabeth's arms.

He heard the others get up and leave, but he ignored it, just basking in the warm glow of the sun and feeling glad to be alive.

_Wishes do come true. _


End file.
